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Over the summer, chemistry major Shannon Kleinbach ’09 (Perkiomenville, Pa.) and mechanical engineering major Christina Mack ’09 (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) held an internship with FMI under the guidance of Kevin Rhodes ’82, founder and president of the fragrance manufacturing company.
FMI, located in Allentown, is a full service contract manufacturer specializing in short-run production for the fragrance, household products, and personal care industries.
Kleinbach worked in FMI’s product development laboratory. She made new formulations and experimental batches of various hair care, skin care, and home care products, ranging from shampoo, conditioner, eye shadow, and bath beads to household products like surface cleaner and dish detergent. Kleinbach was also responsible for other tasks, including helping to source new raw materials and improving the product development information database.
Kleinbach will continue to work at FMI over the upcoming winter break.
Mack worked with the bottle filling department on a variety of projects to improve operational efficiencies. She calculated daily efficiencies based on production and figured out standard rates for the pricing of new products. Mack also created a new employee manual with procedures for filling line employees, which has enabled them to become proficient at using the machinery and certain procedures at a much faster pace.
Lafayette’s internship relationship with FMI began two years ago when the company needed summer help in their product development area. Jeff Silvan ’07 and Kristen Lyon ’07 held previous internship positions. This year, FMI took three interns. In addition to Kleinbach and Mack, one student from Lehigh also worked for the organization.
“Today’s students are quite capable of making a contribution to any business, especially if the business gives them real responsibility and a measurable goal. While they require some support, the effort is minimal compared to the result. Done right, it is a very rewarding experience for everyone involved,” says Rhodes.
Kleinbach enjoyed the sense of responsibility that was given to her at FMI. “Kevin and FMI’s research and development manager, Elizabeth Rieland, allowed me to take on responsibilities that I never thought I would be able to have as an intern. This made my internship experience extremely beneficial and meaningful.”
“The whole team at FMI truly trusted Christina and me with the responsibilities that were given to us, which ultimately made our contribution to FMI and FMI’s contribution to us more meaningful.”
During Rhodes’ time at Lafayette, he had the opportunity to take an internship with Proctor & Gamble. This internship gave him a real life experience that allowed him to determine what he wanted to do after graduation. He went on to work for the company for 10 years before leaving to create FMI.
Rhodes hopes that the interns at FMI will have the same type of enriching experience. “Our goal at FMI is to ‘help people achieve their dreams.’ An internship is one small way to help Lafayette students figure out what they want to do after graduation, possibly helping them define their dream and taking a step toward it,” says Rhodes.
Mack agreed that the internship opened her eyes to new options for her future. “This summer internship showed me different possibilities of what you could do with a degree from Lafayette, ranging from working at a big company to starting your own business.”
Kleinbach also found it heartening to work with a Lafayette graduate. “It is a valuable experience to work with a Lafayette alum because you can see where a degree from Lafayette will take you. Being a chemistry major like myself or an engineer like Christina can be a bumpy road at times, but to see all that Kevin has done since his time at Lafayette is encouraging for a current student.”